Increased demand for continued advancement of electronic devices has motivated improvements in durability, thinness, and portability of electronic devices. These devices may include cell phones, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, wearable devices, navigation devices, sports devices, accessory devices, peripheral input devices, or other similar products.
Such devices may include apertures in the external housing sized to receive physical buttons. However, as the device is introduced to diverse environmental conditions foreign matter such as dust, lint, condensation, and liquid may penetrate the gap between the button and the housing defined by the size of the aperture. Foreign matter, especially liquids such as water, may undesirably interfere with normal device operation or, in other cases, may irreparably damage internal components. Accordingly, many electronic devices are manufactured with apertures sized to minimize the gap between a physical button and a housing. These devices often include liquid seals such as gaskets about the perimeter of the aperture to prevent and impede ingress of foreign matter. Such liquid seals must be larger than the perimeter opening in order to provide an effective seal.
In addition, liquid seals about the perimeter of the aperture in a housing may be at least partially connected to the movable button cap in order to provide an effective seal through all positions of the button cap. Thus, the larger the perimeter of the button cap, the larger the movable portion of the liquid seal must be. In some examples, large movable portions of liquid seals may be subject to higher failure rates. Further, as a result of the increased size, larger seals may require a button to be positioned a certain minimum distance away from other components of the electronic device. As a result, liquid sealed buttons may not be feasible for particularly thin or compact devices.
Further, in order to reliably attach a physical button to an electronic device housing such that a liquid seal functions as intended, specialized geometry along the interior perimeter of the electronic device housing is often required. For example, screw taps are often machined into the housing adjacent to a button aperture to receive screws that hold the physical button and associated seals in place. Such additional machining steps may increase manufacturing cost, time, and part rejection. Additional machining steps may also decrease the structural integrity of the housing, increase the footprint of the button attachment mechanism, and increase the size, shape, and cost of necessary liquid seals.
Furthermore, aesthetically pleasing electronic devices may require physical buttons taking specially designed shapes. In some examples, if a specially designed physical button is not pressed at its center, it may pivot instead of translating downward. This may cause frustration, as pivoting may fail to activate the button. Accordingly, many electronic devices are manufactured with vertical translation guides positioned below physical buttons which may substantially distribute downward force across the button area, thereby preventing or reducing pivoting and ensuring button activation. However, the additional required parts for the vertical translation guide mechanism may increase manufacturing cost and assembly time in addition to increasing the internal volume the sealed physical button requires.
Accordingly, there may be a present need for a physical button for use with a portable electronic device that is not constrained to particular dimensions or shapes, does not require specialized attachment mechanisms, or additional space within a housing, that is liquid sealed in a durable and reliable way, and may be consistently activated by pressing any portion of the surface of the button cap.